The present invention relates to a window assembly with a sash which is both slideable and tiltable relative to the frame supporting the sash.
Many of today""s modern windows have sashes which are both slideable and tiltable relative to their supporting frames. The tilt feature adds the benefit that the sash can be cleaned when tilted to an open position. However, this same tilt feature can also be detrimental because current windows that have slideable and tiltable sashes do not include any type of a sash tilt control. Without this control the sash, if not properly handled by the person at the window, can easily fall completely out of the frame creating a very hazardous situation.
In a typical window having sliding and tilting sashes the frame jambs of the window usually have undercut openings known in the industry as balance pockets or channels. These channels contain balancing devices i.e., balance springs or the like which help to hold the sashes at different positions to which they are slid relative to the frame. Any sash tilt control that can be added to current window designs must not interfere with these balance devices. Furthermore, any such sash tilt control must not adversely affect the tilt opening or tilt closing of the sash.
The window industry is very competitive and as such any changes to known window assembly construction are not readily accepted both from a cost and a market appeal standpoint. Therefore, any modifications made to existing windows having slideable and tiltable sashes must be at very low cost and should be compatible with current window assembly design.
The present invention provides a window assembly having a frame, a sash and a low cost sash tilt control which prevents the sash from tilting out of the frame and which is extremely compatible with existing window design.
More particularly, the window assembly of the present invention comprises a frame and a sash in which the frame is elongated relative to the sash and the sash is slideable to different vertical settings within the frame. The frame has side jambs with interior channels opening at the sash. Each of these channels is provided with a balancing device which slides with and balances weight of the sash at the different vertical settings of the sash in the frame.
The sash is further tiltable between a tilted closed and different tilted open positions relative to the frame.
The assembly includes a sash tilt control bar. This bar has a first end attached to the sash and a second end which is slideably held within one of the channels of the frame. The frame, the sash and the bar all vertically align with one another when the sash is in the tilted closed position where the bar is sandwiched between the frame and the sash.
When the sash is tilted open the second end of the bar slides vertically of the channel in which it is held. The vertical sliding of the second end of the bar does not interfere with the balance device in that channel. The vertical travel at the second end of the bar causes the bar to tip away from its vertical position towards a more horizontal position. However, the bar should not reach a fully horizontal position i.e., a position perpendicular to the frame where the bar might otherwise block the tilt closing of the sash. In order to avoid this problem, the bar limits the tilt opening of the sash to positions which do not allow the second end of the bar to travel sufficiently far as to allow the bar to move to a position perpendicular to the frame. This in turn stops the vertical travel of the second end of the bar before the bar tips to a position perpendicular to the frame as the sash is tilted open.